Storymania - Nassau by Sarita Napple

Nassau
Sarita Napple

Nassau

Sophie Keaton was buying dog food just like she always did every other Sunday morning. She was going out of town soon so she bought a bigger bag then normal. As she was leaving the store she began to fumble with the large bag, so a tall man wearing a dark green polo and blue jeans began to help her with the unfortunate weight. She thanked him and was very relieved that she didn’t have to fight to get out her car keys.

Hank Manning was being a Good Samaritan, by helping a slender woman with a bag much to heavy for her little body. Manning and Sophie were loading the dog food into Sophie’s car when he felt an all to familiar feeling, they were both jammed in the back with large guns. Manning knew just what to do, be calm, but his new friend had a different idea.

Sophie was panicked with the feeling of something heavy being forced into her back. A look of sheer terror struck her face, but before she could react the barrel of a gun pushed her into the back of her own BMW 330xi. Even her brand new leather seats felt hard as the two large men pealed out into the New York streets.

Manning knew exactly what was happening as he gazed at this woman’s Armani suit, and Louis Vuitton purse. To his knowledge there was no reason for these men to be after an ex military major with one thousand dollars to his name. This woman appeared to be worth the professional capturers, who were wearing business suits and shinny shoes, so as not to stand out on the streets of New York. No one said a word as they drove, they horded toward the ocean where when met by a dock they found a huge white yacht.

Jeffery Brinks knew that money could buy happiness as soon as he saw Sophie’s terrified face. All he had to do to achieve this much joy was to pay two men one hundred thousand dollars each. He had longed for her even since the split when she left him because of his sinful ways. He had been dreaming about this moment for years now and watched her to find the right time for this to all come true. Now it finally was.

Sophie recognized this yacht she had been on it a few times before. That’s all she had time to think of before she was yanked by her hair and thrown by gunpoint into a compartment in the hull that she didn’t even know existed. Manning was soon to follow after being prosecuted by the men.

“Now don’t try any thing funny.” Yelled one of the large men while shutting the door and gunning the yachts engines full on in the south direction.

Manning was clashed around in the hull as the deafening sound of the engine and the water all around them, pierced his ears. He sat in the hull for what seemed like six hours until she finally talked. “I’m Sophie Keaton,” she stated

“Hank Manning” he retorted.

“Where do you think we are going?”

“You’re the one who knows this man.”

“How would you know?” she questioned, almost offended.

“The way he looked at you, its obvious that he has been waiting for this for a long, long time. This is his way of being with you, and his assailants made a terrible mistake by bringing me along”

“Wait just a second here bucko, why can’t he be after you, He’s a bad man maybe he has it in it for you?” Sophie was now beyond offended.

“No ma’am I don’t think I recognize that man”

Brinks sat on his bleach white yacht enjoying the quickly warming weather, as he realized the gas gage was near empty. He thought about stopping at a near by dock but soon realized that his captives would bang and yell at the sound of the engine truanting off and other human voices. He had a dilemma and need to deal with it fast.

In New York the head of the FBI was beginning to wonder why his timely daughter was five minutes late. It was not like her to be late, especially to their Sunday lunch. He called every line he knew she could be at and got answering machines and turned off phones. Mr. Keaton called his aide on his day off and demanded they meet ASAP.

“You don’t think, and you don’t know him are two completely different things.” Sophie had to scream over the engines.

“How do you know this man?” Manning questioned.

“He was my fiancé, we split a couple years back. His name is Jeffery Brinks.” Sophie explained.

Manning was shocked to hear the name. he did know this man. Not personally but by name, he was the leader of a group that was involved in the illegal oil trade operation in Iraq. Brinks was wanted for treason through out the world, and when Manning was in the military he was fighting to find this man and capture him. After Manning explained all of this to Sophie, she knew what he was talking about; this was why she had left him. His dishonesty and malevolent ways. She then explained who she was, an FBI agent who’s father was the head of the FBI.

“We are going to leave them out here, with life vests on, it wont take us long to get gas so they wont go far, so we can come back pick them up and continue on.” Brinks ordered the other men.

“Yes sir.” They said in unison. They unlocked the hull and pulled out the captives, threw on some life vests and quickly dumped them into the deep blue.

“Manning I can’t swim!” Sophie struggled as she clung to Manning.

“It’s ok, just float.” Manning offered calmly.

“So this is their plan to leave us in the ocean, let us drown, he knows that I can’t swim.” She was scared of the water and what it had done to her mother years ago.

Manning suggested that they try and swim for land, it was only about three miles away and if they started now they could make it in about an hour, with the current. As a result they began to swim. After about five minutes of strenuous swimming, the bright white yacht began back in their direction. Manning thought to go under and hope for them to pass over but with Sophie along there was no way she could go under for long enough. So he waited for them to scoop them up drenched, and poor them into the hull for another long journey.

“I recognized it, where we are, we are at the islands off of north Carolina, I know where he is taking us now.” Sophie informed Manning.

When Zell had to come into work on his day off he knew that it had to be very important. This time it was more then important, it was a matter of his bosses daughter. “I tried every line of hers twice, I even called all of her friends and co workers. Last thing Kate heard was she was buying dog food at the pet store on 95th.” Zell briefed Mr. Keaton. “We searched the Pet store for any leads and found a video surveillance camera of outside the shop, she appeared to be grabbed by three men and stuffed into her own car, I have the pictures if you would like to take a look at the three men.”

“I should have known, Brinks is involved. Two of those men are his, I can tell by the pin on their right shoulders. I don’t know the third, but I know how to reach Brinks.” Mr. Keaton stated. “Get me a secure line, I don’t need the media to get a hold of this information.”

“I’m on it.” Zell said as he went to work.

“I’ve been expecting your call.” Brinks held.

“Where is she, Sophie, what have you done with her?” Mr. Keaton vexed.

“ She is safe, you know I wouldn’t hurt her. I have several demands, before you get to talk to her though.”

“As long as she is safe I will do anything to get her back.”

“Alright, then get the General at Samarra on the phone, and tell him to allow my men to drill as they please, or Sophie will be mine, and you will by no means see her again.” Brinks ordered.

“That’s not an easy thing to do…” Mr. Keaton said as the line went lifeless.

Sophie heard the entire conversation, explained the situation to Manning and they brainstormed on a way to get out of this predicament. Manning knew with his training he could get them as far as out of the hull, but after that there were three armed men that stood in the way of him driving off with the yacht to well-being. Sophie had the idea of breaking open the hull, and diving into the ocean, Manning knew that not wise with her not being able to swim. They came up with the best idea that they could.

“JEFFERY!” Sophie screamed. “Jeffery?” Right away she heard the clanking of the lock being taken off, and she saw his grotesque face. “ I have to go the bathroom, what is a girl to do?”

“Hold it, Will yah? Only one more hour and we arrive.” He shouted as he slammed the hull door and quickly locked it.

“So much for that.” Sophie was disappointed that she was unable to carry out her plan until maybe later. Then she heard the phone ring one more time.

“Brinks, I talked to General Greene, he said he would give me one hour. This is all he can afford without the President being informed. This is all I can give you for now but I am working on it for the long hall.” Mr. Keaton pleaded.

“That is not good enough, this is your daughters freedom we are talking about here, can’t you cut a deal for Christ’s sake, he is your best friend.” Click, Brinks killed the line just as quickly as before.

“Zell, he is playing hard ball, we are going to actually do this, make it know who has her and what is happening.” Mr. Keaton said as he dialed for General Greene. “General, it’s Keaton, we have a situation, I need your help.”

Sophie was arriving at a familiar destination, Brinks’ beachfront property in the Bahamas, on Nassau Island. This is where Sophie had wanted to move after they had gotten married and he brought her here just as he had planned. She felt a chill go down her spine as the warm island air hit her body, she knew exactly what was happening and she knew her father would know to look for her here. All she had to do was put up with Brinks and stay alive, and he would come and get her.

“Mr. Keaton, Mr. Keaton…” Zell was trying to awake him from a daze he had gotten from the phone call with General Greene. “ I know where they are… I know where Sophie is, isn’t it obvious, the sound of the ocean in the background and the fuzzy connection, he’s taking her to that home they had built in the Bahamas. On Nassau.”

“That’s right, how could I have missed it, Round up what FBI you can, we need to get to her as rapidly as possible.” Mr. Keaton saw a ray of hope in knowing the destination of his beloved daughter. They managed to get two helicopters and three boats full of men that were going to be available in the morning, at one AM to start toward the Island of Nassau.

“Here we are.” Brinks told Sophie, “Is it everything that you have dreamed of? Isn’t just how you wanted it?”

“No. What I want is to never see your conniving face again!” She said as she spat in his face.

“My, my. Developed an attitude I see. Well we have a place to put people like you. Take her down men.” Brinks controlled the men with his voice as a horse rider would with their whip. “ Now as for you, who are you?” Brinks was now facing Manning.

“Major Hank Manning.”

“Ah a military boy. Where did you serve?”

“I was stationed in Germany for much of my tour. May I ask who you are?” Manning asked already knowing the answer.

“Jeff Brinks, this is Sophie and my home, welcome to it, we might have use for you later, being a military man.” Brinks then ordered him to stay in a little brink hut next to the big house.

As Manning arrived, he was searching for an escape and memorizing how they got into the hut and what security measures the men were taking to keep him in the hut. They locked him in and took the key, but the door was not what caught his attention. It was the faulty bricks toward the back of the eight by ten hut. He knew within twenty minutes he could get enough bricks out of the way that he could squeeze through them.

Sophie was taken to a sealed room with brand new walls, she was locked up in this luxurious room with no escape but she still tried after finding nothing in the main room, she headed toward the bathroom with high hopes. After feeling the walls and the tub she found that the tub had a hallow sound as if it were suspended in thin air, so she jumped into the tub and tried to break though it. After ten minutes of tremendous effort it had moved maybe a quarter of an inch, but at least she was making progress.

Twenty minutes later Manning was well on his way out of the hut and onto the main grounds, he was in search of where Sophie could be. His training had taught him to never leave a man behind, or in this case, a woman. He searched the perimeter, and saw only one building that she could be in. it was on the second story and he would need to be very devious to get there un detected. He managed to get to the front door of her villa, and he hears a loud banging. “Sophie, pssst, Sophie.”

In between loud breaths and jumping on the unsteady tub she heard him, it was Manning on her doorstep ushering her toward him with a loud whisper. “ yea, I m here. How do I get out?”

“ I can see the Bath tub from downstairs, keep breaking through that when you do, I will come back to get you, right now I am finding a way to get out of here. Now get to work.” And with that she went back to the tub and had even more itching to get through it. It only took another thirty minutes to get the tub to sway only connected by one side, she jumped through it to find Manning there ready to take her to the ocean. They ran to the ocean with high hopes. Finding only the yacht they had come on with no keys.

“He left his phone in the yacht, you should call your father back and tell him to send troops.” Manning informed Sophie, she began to redial and luckily got a hold of the sleepless man right away.

“Daddy… its Sophie.”

“Thank heavens your ok, has he hurt you in any way.”

“No but daddy you need to send people to come and get me right away, were in trouble.” Sophie whispered.

“They are on their way, but they are coming from Miami, they might take as long as a half an hour.” Mr. Keaton said. “ I will have them hurry, don’t move away from the dock, they will get you from there.”

“OK, I Love you Daddy.” And that was all she could say before Manning ripped the phone from her ear and forced into the ocean. Where they hid close to the yacht. Manning had heard voices and hoped that they were not coming to check on their hostages. Fortunately the “professionals" only checked the front door of the hut and did not see the back was missing. That bought them some time. Sophie and Manning decided to find a better hiding spot, by a big rock in the water only twenty feet away, where they waited until they heard the faint cry of a helicopter approaching. The noise awoke the Criminals sleeping inside the house, who came out with hefty firearms ready to shoot. Sophie and Manning got back on the dock and dodged enough bullets to be lifted onto the helicopter and miss the blood bath that was occurring under them as the FBI troops combated the criminals of Nassau Island.